World Immigration News

The Trump Administration’s Hostility to Legal Immigration Harms America’s Global Leadership in Innovation

Release Date: 2025-11-13
Media: Center for American Progress
Summary: This report argues that America’s innovation and competitiveness have long depended on immigrants—particularly highly skilled workers in STEM fields—while criticizing the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies for undermining that foundation. Although immigrants have played central roles in U.S. advancements, such as the co-founding of Google or the development of mRNA vaccines, the administration’s recent policies have caused talented individuals to avoid the United States and move to other countries.

Specific actions—revoking student visas, deleting SEVIS records, detaining international students and researchers, tightening travel bans, and screening social media accounts—have created a climate of fear in which foreign students and scientists feel they could be detained at any time. As a result, they are increasingly choosing not to study or work in the United States. The report also criticizes government intervention in higher education institutions, the planned abolition of the OPT program, the new $100,000 H-1B petition fee, the “gold card” scheme for wealthy applicants, and the reversal of protections allowing dependent children over age 21 to maintain eligibility for permanent residence. These measures narrow legal immigration pathways and destabilize families and careers.

Meanwhile, countries such as Canada, Spain, China, the United Kingdom, and France are proactively attracting the very talent trained in the United States, strengthening global competition for highly skilled workers. The Trump administration’s rhetoric and policies have contributed to declining international student numbers, economic losses for universities and local communities, and an outflow of AI and STEM talent to other nations—especially dangerous as the U.S. faces rival competition from China.

The report notes that America’s immigration system—which has not been substantially updated for more than 30 years—has inherent problems such as outdated visa caps and massive green card backlogs. It argues that instead of flashy policies favoring the wealthy, the administration should work with Congress to modernize the entire system, prevent abuse of temporary visas, protect workers, and expand opportunities for highly skilled graduates, entrepreneurs, and researchers to remain in the country. Combined with investments in domestic education and reskilling, such reforms would allow immigrants and American workers together to support the AI-driven economy and maintain long-term U.S. leadership in innovation.

The appendix summarizes visa categories relevant to innovation—H-1B, F-1 with OPT, J-1 exchange visitor visas, and employment-based green cards—highlighting how each system’s limitations hinder the retention of top talent in the United States.
Tags: United States of America